“Eurgh,” said Luna, resting her head against the train door as it slowed to a halt in Skyburrough at the crack of dawn.

  “Watch it,” said Aurin, pulling her back as the doors opening.

  The duo didn’t want to stay in Maplewood for too long and opted for the overnight train that would take them to Skyburrough. What Luna hadn’t accounted for was how uncomfortable it was sleeping on a train. Aurin, however, felt fine considering some of the places he’d slept during his training.

  “Can we get some coffee?” Luna asked.

  “You don’t drink coffee,” replied Aurin, putting his hands on her shoulders and marching her onto the platform.

  “I do today.”

  “I’m not sure anywhere is even open at this time.”

  “Eurgh,” groaned Luna again, slumping forwards. “I want to talk to someone who will reassure me rather than telling me the truth.”

  She held up her hand and summoned Flaround to her side. He appeared in a flash of red and heat immediately radiated from him, warming the two tamers in the cool morning. Aurin summoned Dolissile; the monster he could most rely on to not be snarky with him.

  As the two stepped off the platform and into the streets of Skyburrough, they were immediately confronted by a huge billboard that the sunrise illuminated for them. It displayed a battle between four Minakai—a Vinewolf, Spikruption, Splashard, and Wingbloom—but they were surrounded by blue hexagons that converged into a grassy battlefield. Plastered at the top of the billboard were the words…

  “Virtual Minakai Championships?” asked Aurin. “What in the world is that?”

  “Beats me,” said Luna her sluggishness replaced by curiosity. “Maybe it’s got something to do with one of the Minakai video games people are always raving about?”

  “People? Which people?”

  “I don’t know, lots of people play Minakai games. I hear things from time to time. I couldn’t point out a specific example.”

  Aurin frowned. “Imagine playing a Minakai video game when you’ve got real monster eggs you can buy down at the shop.”

  “Not everyone can afford ranch fees, food, and all the other stuff that comes with Minakai care, you know. It adds up after a while. The only reason you can do it is because Kyle undercharges you and you’ve made a lot of silver and gold in the tower.”

  “And by big prize from the National Championships,” added Aurin with a grin.

  Luna rolled her eyes. “You know my point, stop trying to brag to me because you know you don’t need to.”

  “Fair enough,” shrugged Aurin. “Maybe we’ll go and check out these Virtual Championships then. I wonder if we can still get tickets.”

  Luna pointed to the billboard again. “Airing in the Domino District Plaza at nine o’clock this morning. That’s only two and a half hours away.”

  Aurin was suddenly stricken by a thought. “Digital!” he called out, startling Flaround and making him whimper. “Evan said that people in Skyburrough preferred their Minakai to be digital. This must be what he meant.”

  “Yes, he did say that. He also said to visit the Domino District.”

  “The timing couldn’t be any more perfect,” said Aurin excitedly. “Let’s go find somewhere and get ourselves a big breakfast before seeing the show. I want to see who’s battling and what Minakai they use. I bet I could beat them with my eyes closed.”

  The two tamers and their Minakai roamed the streets of Skyburrough. To their surprise, a few people were already walking around the city and on their way to work, while others were eating and drinking in the few open cafés and diners. Unlike Hazelton, which would be deserted at this hour, Skyburrough did not lie in the same way the small town did.

  Aurin and Luna found themselves a diner that would allow them to eat outside and they enjoyed a full Bretonian breakfast and the two Minakai were given water, which Flaround lapped up with his tongue and Dolissile dunked his nose in, draining it slowly through his faint mouth. Aurin drank a cup of tea with his food while Luna barely touched her coffee, finding it much more bitter than she expected.

  “Are you going to finish that?” asked Aurin smugly as he paid the bill.

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  “Yes,” replied Luna, looking at the coffee uneasily. “Alright, fine. You’re right, I hate coffee.”

  The morning had warmed up considerably and Virtual Minakai Championships were only an hour away. The gentleman serving them at the diner gave them directions to the Domino District—follow the towering Asher Building to its base—and they were on their way.

  The Asher Building that stood more than a few heads above the other buildings was marked by a giant ‘MI’ logo with the M being in the shape of a monster and the bottom of the I trailing off into dispersing pixels. Neither Aurin or Luna had the faintest idea what it stood for, but they gave the question little thought as they aimed for Domino.

  By the time they arrived in the plaza, it was half past eight and Skyburrough had gone from surprisingly busy to shockingly so. Every shop or business they passed in Domino dealt in Minakai merchandise, technology, or some mixture of the two. It was a world of Minakai that neither Aurin or Luna had seen before, not even in Ludonia. Curiously, the people roaming the city had very few Minakai. Those who did, opted for smaller ones and they were typically lightning or metal elementals. Dolissile was also bumped aside by another Dolissile, but he slyly activated a small pulse and spun his brethren out of the way and into its tamer.

  Built into the side of the Asher Building was a giant screen those found in a cinema. On the screen there was a countdown, slowly ticking over until it was nine o’clock. The few benches in the plaza were occupied and the rest of the spectators had chosen to sit on the grass and the pavement in order to watch.

  “Excuse me,” Luna asked a man sitting by.

  “Yes?” he replied.

  “Where do we get tickets?”

  “Tickets?” he chortled. “Just pull up a seat. Monstrous Industries is sponsoring this entire thing and it’s free to watch.”

  “Free?” asked Aurin, taken aback.

  “Free,” confirmed the man with a nod. “Is this your first time watching a digital battle? You both have southern accents.”

  “First time,” said Luna. “Is this a video game or something?”

  “Many would insist it’s a virtual simulation, but yes, it’s a video game. It’s similar to real life battles, but the tamers take turns issuing commands which adds another layer of strategy.”

  “Another layer?” scoffed Aurin, but Luna shushed him.

  “Thank you,” she said, before shooing him away to a small patch of grass where they could sit. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about, so don’t go getting all riled up. Flaround and Dolissile should be more offended than you are and you don’t see them caring.”

  Aurin looked into Dolissile’s eyes. “He’s irked too, I can tell. Isn’t that right?”

  Dolissile let out a small echoing click.

  “I don’t know what he said,” said Luna.

  “I do,” said Aurin. “He says that digital battling is stupid and real Minakai and tamers duke it out in reality, where things are…well, real.”

  “He said that with a single click, did he?” asked Luna with a raised eyebrow.

  “He’s a wise cyborg, my Dolissile. He can summarise a page in a single syllable.”

  “Oh shush, you,” said Luna, rolling her eyes. “Let’s just watch it and enjoy rather than being critical of something we know nothing about.”

  “Fine,” grumbled Aurin, folding his arms and catching Dolissile’s eye. The dolphin shook his upper half from side to side. “I know, mate. I know.”

  “Flaround’s excited,” said Luna, stroking the orange dog’s furry back. “Aren’t you, boy?”

  The fire elemental barked, more interested in being scratched than watching anything on a screen.

  When the countdown hit zero, the screen lit up with the MI logo for Monstrous Industries. Without any further announcement and zero commentary, the words ‘Commence Battle’ flashed across the screen in bold blue lettering before dissolving away into pixels. Standing on a computer-generated dirt battlefield was a Vinewolf and a Thundarun. Displayed in top corner of the screen next to a set of long green bars was a video feed of a human.

  “Are those the players?” asked Luna.

  “Must be,” said Aurin, perplexed at what was unfolding before him. “What are those bars?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  Suddenly, the Thundarun reared up and unleashed a lightning bolt from its horn. The lightning streamed across the battlefield as the camera angle changed to follow it before it struck the Vinewolf who didn’t bother dodging. Could it even dodge if it was computer code?

  “Oh, look!” cried Luna, pointing to screen where the bar beside Vinewolf’s player was reduced by a third. “The bars must be hit points.”

  “Hit points?” scoffed Aurin. “Ludicrous. Minakai don’t have hit points.”

  The Vinewolf retaliated to the lightning strike by sending a flurry of pink petal blossoms across the field, cutting into the Thundarun. There was barely a flinch, there was no blood, and a few of the blossoms clipped through each other, leaving Aurin thoroughly unimpressed.

  “People choose this?” he cried, throwing his hands in the air. “Dolissile, can you believe this?”

  “I’m trying to watch!” Luna scolded him as Dolissile shook again. “It’s fun, right Flaround?”

  Luna’s Minakai was lying on his stomach and scratching his ear with his hind leg, paying zero attention to the screen.

  “I’m not sticking around to watch this all day,” said Aurin. “Once the first match is over, we’re going to find the few people around who aren’t watching this and show them what real Minakai battling is all about. The blood, the sweat, the tears; all of it.”

  Luna sighed. “If we must,” she said. “My goodness, how I wish Evan and Elodie had given us a fair warning. Then I wouldn’t have to listen to you moan about it with such fire.”

  “I’m fired up because it’s an affront. An abomination!”

  “Alright, now you’re being dramatic for the sake of it, Aurin. It’s just a game. It’s obviously popular and it isn’t going away. Besides, you didn’t even know it existed until today!”

  The young man took a deep breath in and shook his head. “This will not stand,” he muttered. “My newest goal as a tamer is to be a shining example of the fact you can start from zero and rise to the top of the national level.”

  “You’re going to be severely disappointed if you think you’ll be able to dissuade people from playing a game. Do you think people should stop watching movies just because they’re not real?”

  Aurin bit his lip and looked to Dolissile. “Don’t answer that,” he told the cyborg. “She’s throwing us a trick question.”

  “Honestly,” sighed Luna, shaking her head. “Fine, we’ll go find some players and see if we can sway them to our ways. If we can’t, I don’t want to hear another word about it.”

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